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No more would Heidi play second fiddle to last year's winner in her age group -- her 13-year-old twin sister, the older sister by 30 seconds, Kaitlin.

But Heidi didn't even get a chance to compete.

There were scores of entries in several age groups. All were on public display for days near one of the Rock Hill Galleria entrances after the April 9 submission deadline. Heidi had made that deadline with an hour to spare, after spending dozens of hours making it just right.

Somehow, she suffered through all those Hershey Kisses.

On Sunday, April 13, Heidi and her family went to the mall and looked at all the entries.

"Hers really was great," said twin sister Kaitlin, who, like her sister, is home-schooled.

Even the little brother, Adam, the 11-year-old wise guy, said, "She had the best."

Organizers checked with mall officials, but nobody had seen the colored frog on the mirror. Hope was held out that maybe the family picked up the entry, Skroban said. However, organizers couldn't contact the family because Heidi's contact information was on the entry itself. Nobody knew whose colored frog on a mirror was missing.

Kaitlin received a phone call last week to be at the judging Sunday because she was a finalist. A neighbor kid did, too.

The forlorn Heidi received nothing.

Heidi has entered this contest for years, and the few dollars in potential prize money wasn't the issue. Parents Elizabeth and John Ebeling tried to resuscitate Heidi's sagging spirits.